2003/07/31 by F. S. Bergeret, A. F. Volkov, K. B. Efetov · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Magnetic properties of thin films #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.69.174504
published as Phys. Rev. B 69, 174504 (2004) · 5 pages, 2 figures. revised and longer version. to be published in Phys. Rev. B
arxiv created 2004/03/29 · openalex publication_date 2004/05/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
We consider a superconductor-ferromagnet (S/F) structure and assume that above the superconducting transition temperature Tc the magnetic moment exists only in F. In a simple model of the ferromagnet (the exchange field is of the ferromagnetic type for all energies) we show by an explicit calculation that below Tc the magnetic moment may penetrate the superconductor. In this model its direction in S is opposite to the magnetization of free electrons in the ferromagnet. The magnetization spreads over a large distance which is of the order of the superconducting coherence length \ensuremathξS and can much exceed the ferromagnet film thickness. At the same time the magnetic moment in the ferromagnet is reduced. This inverse proximity effect may explain the reduction in magnetization observed in recent experiments and may lead to a strong interaction between the ferromagnetic layers in F/S/F structures.